REVIEW article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1574257
The Efficacy and Safety of Acetylcysteine Combined with Budesonide Nebulization in Treating Mycoplasma Pneumonia in Children: A Meta-Analysis
Provisionally accepted
Rongmei Huang*
Yinan He- Ya'an People’s Hospital, Yaan, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Background: The aim of this meta-analysis was to systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of acetylcysteine combined with budesonide nebulization in treating Mycoplasma pneumonia in children.Methods: We systematically searched eight electronic databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the use of acetylcysteine combined with budesonide nebulization in treating Mycoplasma pneumonia in children, from database inception through December 2024, and performed data analysis using a random-effects model.Results: The 29 RCTs involving 4300 children were conducted. The experimental group received acetylcysteine plus budesonide treatment, while the comparison group received budesonide alone. Results showed the experimental group had a significantly higher overall clinical efficacy rate (RR=1.16, 95% CI=1.13-1.20, I2=16%). The experimental group also had a significantly lower incidence of diarrhea (RR=0.17, 95% CI=0.05-0.54, I2=0%), with no significant difference in other adverse events. The experimental group had significantly shorter times to resolution of cough (SMD = -2.11, 95%CI = -2.65 to -1.57, I2 = 97%), moist rale (SMD = -1.91, 95%CI = -2.50 to -1.33, I2 = 97%), and fever (SMD = -1.70, 95%CI = -2.26 to -1.14, I2 = 95%). Post-treatment, the experimental group had significantly lower C-reactive protein levels (SMD=-1.44, 95% CI=-1.92 to -0.97, I2=91%).Conclusions: Compared with budesonide monotherapy, acetylcysteine combined with budesonide significantly improved the clinical efficacy in children with Mycoplasma pneumonia while not increasing the risk of adverse events, and represents a safe and effective treatment option.
Keywords: Mycoplasma pneumonia, Children, Acetylcysteine, Budesonide ； curative effect, Meta-analysis
Received: 10 Feb 2025; Accepted: 26 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Huang and He. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Rongmei Huang, Ya'an People’s Hospital, Yaan, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.